Love Robots

philosophymachines.com/loverobots

The Love Robots are built on notions of love, not ‘intelligence,’ automation, or practicality. They use sound, motion and animation, and they try to find each other.

Sometimes they succeed, often they do not.

They are fragile and vulnerable, made from materials such as glass and stone. We built the Love Robots as props or prompts to help people to think about love.

The most interesting behaviours of the Love Robots are due to their materiality. Their motors exhibit spontaneous synchronisation through mechanical coupling (Huygens synchronisation) as they become part of an active matter system. Their cable-tie legs scratch each surface differently, sliding, gliding or getting slightly stuck. Wires bend outwards from each robot. Our first impulse was to shorten them, until we saw how they act like elbows nudging each other. They wobble, they flow, they tangle, and get into a type of entrainment.

The Love Robots were launched at the World Beautiful Business Forum in Athens in May 2026. It was part of Mozilla Festival in Barcelona, Spain, 28–30 October 2026. More at philosophymachines.com/loverobots.